Leading Irish official calls for same-sex marriage
July 05, 2012
Ireland’s deputy prime minister is calling upon the nation to legalize same-sex marriage.
“I believe in gay marriage,” said Eamon Gilmore, who also serves as minister for foreign affairs and trade. “The right of gay couples to marry is, quite simply, the civil rights issue of this generation, and, in my opinion, its time has come.”
“It is not the role of the State to pass judgement on who a person falls in love with, or who they want to spend their life with,” he added. “And there are other issues which, I believe, will challenge us to reassess the interconnectedness of the views of one Church, with the laws of the country.”
“As a country, our first century of independence was dominated by the nationalist debate about Irish freedom,” he continued. “Let our second century be defined by a concept of freedom that is universal. A concept of freedom that is not afraid of difference, or of change. In short, the freedom of Irish citizens to realize their own happiness, in their own way.”
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Further information:
- Prime Minister Enda Kenny urged to join fellow leaders in support of gay marriage (IrishCentral.com)
- Time has come for move on same-sex marriage (Labour Party)
- Thousands in Gay Pride parade (Irish Times)
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Posted by: -
Jul. 05, 2012 6:21 PM ET USA
Randal, your comments touch on another vital issue - the direction of liturgical worship. The inward looking circle of Mass facing the people vs. the outward look towards God in the Mass facing the east.
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Posted by: Randal Mandock -
Jul. 05, 2012 9:51 AM ET USA
When the center of organized worship is inward rather than outward, we should expect the focus of anti-Catholic bigotry to be directed against the moral law and moral life of Catholics.
